Students of Monu Memorial Institute in East Kolkata | Express photo by Partha PaulCoronavirus Omicron India Live News: Amid a significant drop in Covid-19 cases in Mumbai, city Mayor Kishori Pednekar on Tuesday hinted that the Maharashtra capital will be unlocked by the end of this month and underlined the need for resumption of all activities. Speaking to reporters here, Pednekar also said that Mumbai will achieve 100 per cent vaccination within a week, PTI reported. The mayor’s statement comes a day after Mumbai reported 356 Covid-19 cases, the lowest daily rise after December 21, 2021, when the third wave of the pandemic began.
With reopening of schools raising concern over the safety of children below 15 years of age, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday said in the Rajya Sabha that the government will take a decision to vaccinate this group based on suggestions of an expert group. The government has constituted an expert group to give suggestions on which age group to be given Covid-19 vaccine first and accordingly vaccination for the 15-18 age group is underway, he said during the Question Hour. The expert group meets regularly and gives suggestions based on which the government takes action, news agency PTI quoted him as saying.
Meanwhile, India recorded 67,597 new cases of Covid-19 and related 1,188 fatalities Tuesday, recording a decrease in fresh infections but a rise in the death toll, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. However, of the 1,188 deaths, 733 were reported by Kerala which is reconciling its data as per government orders. These are demises that have been designated as Covid-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court.
The third wave of Covid-19 triggered by the Omicron variant appears to have come to an end in Telangana, a senior health official said on Tuesday, even as he stressed on Covid-appropriate behaviour and vaccination.
"In the third wave, cases started rising from December 28, 2021. We have seen the peak on January 28. We are witnessing a decline in number of cases since then," state Director of Public Health G Srinivasa Rao said. About 70 per cent of patients in Telangana are infected by BA.2 sub-lineage of Omicron, he added.
The third and fourth waves of the pandemic that began in various countries across the world due to Omicron are on the wane and the number of daily cases within the country are less than one lakh for the last two days, he said. The positivity rate is less than five per cent. (PTI)
Covid-19 has so far claimed the lives of 67 doctors, 19 nurses in Maharashtra. 20 doctors, 20 nurses, 6 ambulance drivers, and 128 paramedics have lost their lives due to Covid-19 in Gujarat: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.
Puducherry witnessed further drop in number of daily cases of coronavirus with 186 fresh infections being reported on Tuesday. The overall case count stood at 1,64,562. The 186 fresh cases were identified at the end of examination of 2,375 samples and were spread over Puducherry 96, Karaikal 56, Yanam 26 and Mahe 8.
Director of Health G Sriramulu said in a release that test positivity rate fell to 7.83 percent while the fatality and recovery rates were 1.19 percent and 96.73 percent respectively. The active cases were 3,428 and 85 cases out of them were in hospitals taking treatment while the remaining 3,343 patients were in home isolation. Three more people succumbed to the disease today. (PTI)
Odisha recorded 21 more Covid-19 deaths on Tuesday, including a three-month-old infant, pushing the toll to 8,775. The caseload rose to 12,69,811 with 1,503 fresh infections, the health department said. The state had logged 1,497 new cases and 22 deaths on Monday.
Khurda district, where state capital Bhubaneswar is situated, reported the highest number of 333 single-day cases, the department said in a bulletin. Odisha now has 19,386 active cases, while 12,41,597 patients have recovered from the disease, including 3,621 in the last 24 hours. It has conducted a total of 57,150 sample tests for COVID-19 since Monday, the bulletin added. (PTI)
China has ordered inhabitants of the southern city of Baise to stay home and suspended transportation links amid a surge in Covid-19 cases at least partly linked to the omicron variant. Classes have been suspended, non-essential businesses closed and mass testing of residents ordered. Restaurants are only permitted to serve take-out. Traffic lights have been switched to red only to remind drivers to stay home.
As of Tuesday, 135 cases had been reported in the city — at least two of them found to be omicron, health authorities said. The city has become the latest to be placed under lockdown in keeping with China's “zero-tolerance” approach to the pandemic. The policy requires strict measures be applied even when only a small number of cases have been found. (AP)
With reopening of schools raising concern over the safety of children below 15 years of age, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday said in the Rajya Sabha that the government will take a decision to vaccinate this group based on suggestions of an expert group. The government has constituted an expert group to give suggestions on which age group to be given Covid-19 vaccine first and accordingly vaccination for the 15-18 age group is underway, he said during the Question Hour. The expert group meets regularly and gives suggestions based on which the government takes action, news agency PTI quoted him as saying.
The Covid-19 pandemic will not end with the Omicron variant and New Zealand will have to prepare for more variants of the virus this year, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Tuesday in her first parliamentary speech for 2022.
Ardern's warning came as hundreds of protesters gathered outside the parliament building in the capital Wellington, demanding an end to coronavirus restrictions and vaccine mandates.
"Mr Speaker, advice from experts is that Omicron will not be the last variant we will face this year," Ardern told lawmakers in the speech which was livestreamed. "It’s not over. But that doesn’t mean we cannot move forward. And keep making progress. And so we are," she said. (Reuters)
As Covid-19 cases continue to rise, people perpetually remain worried for their health and immunity. While children remained the least affected during the first two waves, an increasing number of kids are getting infected by the virus in the third wave.
Follow these measures if your child has tested positive for Covid-19.
✅Nutritious diet
✅Tepid sponging
✅ Good hygiene
Vaccines administered: 170.21 crore
Active caseload: 9,94,891 (2.35%)
Recovery Rate: 96.46%
Total Recoveries: 4,08,40,658 (1,80,456 in the last 24 hours)
Daily positivity rate: 5.02%
Weekly Positivity Rate: 8.30%
Total Tests conducted: 74.29 crore (Of this, 13,46,534 tests conducted in the last 24 hours)
India recorded 67,597 new cases and 1,188 deaths Tuesday, recording a decrease in new infections but a hike in reported toll. However, of the 1,188 deaths, 733 were reported by Kerala which is reconciling its data as per government orders. These are demises that have been designated as Covid-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court.
The total number of active cases in India currently stands at 9,94,891.
Tamil Nadu continued to witness a decline in daily Covid-19 cases as 5,104 new infections were reported on Monday—14 districts logged fewer than 50 cases—pushing the total to 34,15,986.
A total of 1,18,782 samples were tested in the past 24 hours, pushing the cumulative number of specimens examined to 6.26 crore. With 13 more deaths, the toll reached 37,772. Read More
The cumulative Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country crossed 170 crore landmark on Monday, the Union Health Ministry said. Over 50 lakh (50,48,778) vaccine doses were given till 7 pm on Monday.
More than 1.52 crore (1,52,95,149) precaution doses have been administered to healthcare workers, frontline workers and those aged 60 and above with comorbidities. The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of final reports for the day by late night.
Maharashtra on Monday recorded 6,436 new coronavirus cases, a steep fall of 3,230 from a day ago, and 24 fresh deaths linked to the infection, while 18,423 more patients recovered from the disease. With these additions, the overall tally of Covid-19 cases rose to 78,10,136, while the death toll jumped to 1,43,098, the state health department said.
As per the bulletin, the number of recovered cases in Maharashtra increased to 75,57,034 after 18,423 patients were discharged during the day, leaving the state with 1,06,059 active cases. According to the department, till date a total of 3,334 patients infected with the highly contagious variant Omicron have been detected in the state. Out of these, 2,023 patients have been discharged following a negative RT PCR test.
😷 Today’s Covid cases: Delhi (1,151 cases), Mumbai (356 cases), Kolkata (75 cases), Bangalore (2,718 cases), Chennai (839 cases)
Karnataka on Monday reported 6,151 new Covid cases and 49 related deaths. The test positivity rate was recorded at 6.19 per cent. The day also saw 16,802 discharges. The active cases in the state stand at 87,080. Meanwhile, 2,718 fresh infections were detected from Bengaluru.
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved Serum Institute of India's proposal to manufacture a vaccine against omicron variant of coronavirus for examination, test and analysis, official sources said on Monday.
"With reference to your application, please find herewith the permission to manufacture SARS-CoV-2 rS Protein (Covid-19) recombinant spike protein nanoparticle vaccine (omicron variant) for examination, test and analysis under the provisions of New Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2019 to manufacture the test batches of the drug/drugs mentioned therein," an approval order issued on February 4 stated.
Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs at the SII, Prakash Kumar Singh had put in an application to the DCGI on January 6 stating the Pune-based firm, in collaboration with Novavax Inc, is working on the development of a vaccine against omicron, an official source said, adding that the SII has obtained permission and licence to manufacture SARS-CoV-2rS drug substance for examination, test and analysis.
"... the new coronavirus variant 'omicron' has already been reported in more than 60 countries and is spreading very fast worldwide and in our country also. Our CEO, Dr Adar C Poonawalla is very concerned about protection of citizens of our country and world at large against coronavirus and its new variants and we are relentlessly working on development of SARS-CoV-2 rS Protein (COVID-19) Recombinant Spike Nanoparticle Vaccine (omicron variant). Development of this vaccine shall be another example of vaccine production strength of our country in line with the clarion call of our prime minister 'Making in India for the World' and shall further keep our country's flag flying high globally," Singh had stated in the application," the source said. (PTI)
Delhi on Monday reported 1,151 new Covid cases, a drop from 1,410 on the previous day, and 15 fatalities with a test positivity rate of 2.62 per cent.
The Covid-19 tally in Nashik in Maharashtra reached 4,72,715 on Monday, while the toll stood at 8,850, an official said. So far, 4,59,561 people have been discharged post recovery, including 881 on Monday, leaving the district with 4,304 active cases, he said. (PTI)
Kerala reported 22,524 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, which raised the caseload to 62,93,907, with a test positivity of 28.62 per cent. A total of 78,682 samples were tested in the last 24 hours. There are 3,01,424 active Covid cases in the state, a statement from the health department said.
Kerala also reported 860 deaths which raised the total fatalities to 59,115. Of the deaths, 14 were reported in the last 24 hours, 113 were those which occurred in the last few days but were not recorded due to late receipt of documents and 733 were designated as Covid-19 deaths after receiving appeals based on the new guidelines of the Centre and the directions of the Supreme Court.
Daily Covid-19 cases in Chennai dropped below 1,000 for the first time in a month on Sunday (927) and the active cases stood at 17,865. Tamil Nadu reported 6,120 cases and the active cases in the state stood at 1,21,828. With 26 more deaths, the toll reached 37,759.
Coimbatore (911), Chengalpattu (531), Tiruppur (473), Salem (310), Tiruvallur (256) followed Chennai in the most number of cases reported on Sunday. Read More